The Financial Aid Application doesn’t always tell the whole story, and for that reason, Congress has granted Financial Aid Administrators the authority to evaluate special circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Students must provide adequate documentation to show why their circumstances warrant special treatment. To that end, our office has developed several official online appeals to provide a common means for students to report their circumstances.
*Please note that newly admitted students must wait until after they have submitted their Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) before submitting an appeal to our office.
**Please do not send unsolicited documents by mail. Unsolicited financial documents sent to us by mail will not be reviewed and will be destroyed out of concern for confidentiality.
While Congress has given Financial Aid Administrators a large amount of freedom in making professional judgment decisions, there are firm limits to this power. We are permitted to make changes to data elements submitted on the Financial Aid Application (i.e. Adjusted Gross Income, Dependency Status, etc.), but we are not allowed to alter the SAI (Student Aid Index) formula that the application uses. This distinction rules out certain types of adjustments that are frequently sought by students and families including: Cost of Living Adjustments, Bankruptcy, and Consumer Debt. These situations may have a real impact on a families’ ability to pay for college, but as they do not pertain to data collected on the application, Financial Aid Administrators are unable to consider them.
Professional Judgment Statement - All appeals are evaluated and determined by the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships (OFAS) using Professional Judgment. This is a subjective process, and outcomes may vary since these requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. In all instances, OFAS must have adequate documentation from the student and/or parent to substantiate special circumstances. As such, any request or appeal to our office does not guarantee approval.
The descriptions below outline the various appeals processed by our office. If you are unsure which type appeal you should file, or if you have a situation that seems to fall outside of the scope of these appeals, we encourage you to contact our office and speak to a Financial Aid Administrator for guidance on the best course of action.